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This website is created for organizations, community leaders and individuals alike who are interested in joining the World Hepatitis Day initiative in Canada.

World Hepatitis Day Canada 2017

This year, the Canadian Society for International Health (CSIH) coordinated the World Hepatitis Day (WHD) campaign in Canada with funding from the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC). Some 300,000 Canadians are infected with hepatitis C and PHAC estimates that 44% of these Canadians are unaware of their positive status. As a result, CSIH tailored the WHD Canada theme to meet the needs of Canadians. In order to encourage Canadians to get tested, and promote treatment and care for those affected by viral hepatitis, this year’s theme was: “Know your status? Get tested – Learn your options”.

More than 140 events organized by 60 different community partners were held across Canada. This included outreach activities, informational displays, public events, road shows, events on reserves, in-house educational sessions and more. The highlight of WHD Canada 2017 was that 37 events across Canada offered testing for hepatitis C. This included the implementation of innovative dry drop testing for hepatitis C on-site at WHD Canada events. A number of WHD Canada events also had vaccination for hepatitis A and B, and featured testing for hepatitis B and HIV. The full list of WHD Canada events can be found here.

CSIH also provided thousands of promotional materials in English and French to WHD Canada events. CSIH successfully coordinated volunteers who prepared kits of promotional materials to be shipped to each and every community hosting WHD Canada events. These materials helped bring WHD Canada together through a unified campaign message.

As part of WHD Canada, CSIH in collaboration with Correctional Services Canada (CSC) launched the annual CSC Poster Contest to encourage inmates to learn more about the risks of hepatitis. This contest is open to both male and female federal inmates of Canadian prisons. The deadline for submissions is August 31, 2017. CSIH is also co-hosting the WHD Youth Poster Contest in collaboration with the Canadian Centre for Gender and Sexual Diversity (CCGSD). This contest is open to all youth across Canada from 14-19 years of age. The deadline for submissions is October 1, 2017. More details about both art contests can be found here.

Once again, a number of iconic Canadian landmarks, such as Niagara Falls, were illuminated in light green on July 28th, 2017 in solidarity with the NOhep movement led by the World Hepatitis Alliance (WHA). Learn more about the NOhep movement here.

This year, over 150 World Hepatitis Day (WHD) events took place across Canada. The main goal of WHD Canada is to promote access to prevention, testing and treatment for people affected by hepatitis. This year’s campaign message was ‘Know Your Status? Get Tested – Learn Your Options’. The inaugural Parliamentary Breakfast, co-hosted with the office of the Honorable Jane Philpott, Minister of Health, launched the WHD campaign in Canada. The Breakfast provided a unique opportunity to engage decision makers, public health professionals, community based organizations and the general public and to make the elimination of viral hepatitis our next greatest achievement.

More than 65 organizations in Canada took an active role in WHD Canada 2016. From coast to coast, WHD Canada events included health fairs, travelling road shows, free barbeques, guest speakers such as Members of Parliament, WHD Mayoral Proclamations, workshops, presentations, pancake breakfasts, information booths/displays, entertainment, activities for youth such as poster contests and henna tattooing, raffles, carnivals and games. Many of the events included testing and vaccination for hepatitis as well as 1-on-1 professional consultations with health care providers, which were made possible through the fruitful collaboration between organizations and Provincial/Territorial health units. For more information about WHD 2016 events in Canada please visit https://whdcanada.org/events/

Additionally, several national landmarks were illuminated to mark WHD in Canada for 2016. Niagara Falls was illumined in green on July 28th from both the American and Canadian sides to support the campaign message ‘Know Your Status? Get Tested – Learn Your Options’. The light green color is part of the new global ‘NOhep’ movement which was launched by the World Hepatitis Alliance (WHA) on July 28th (http://www.nohep.org/). Other illuminated landmarks include the Skylon tower, the town arches of Pelham, the CN Tower, Toronto Nathan Phillips Square sign and Toronto City Hall. The media coverage for this year ‘s WHD Canada campaign was incredible! In total there were more than 50 articles published in both English and French. Please check the WHD News page for details https://whdcanada.org/news/ .

WHD Canada 2016 Media Outreach

Due to your hard work and collaborative efforts, this year’s WHD Canada media coverage has reached millions of Canadians in both official languages. To view the updated media coverage highlighting the national efforts during the WHD Canada 2016, please visit https://whdcanada.org/news/ . If we have missed any print, radio or TV media coverage and you would like to add it to the list, please email to Ecaterina Damian edamian@csih.org.

We are very happy WHD 2016 message has reached millions, as only together we can make the elimination of viral hepatitis our next greatest achievement!

The Global WHD Movement

The World Hepatitis Alliance launched the NOhep movement on July 28th. The aim of the movement is to unite the global efforts to eliminate viral hepatitis by 2030, as set out in the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Global Strategy for Viral Hepatitis. World Hepatitis Day is an opportunity to join millions around the world to make the elimination of viral hepatitis our next greatest achievement. For more information about the movement, please visit http://www.nohep.org/

World Hepatitis Day (WHD) – July 28

The Canadian Society for International Health (CSIH) is working with organizations across Canada to raise awareness and join the global effort to eradicate hepatitis. In 2010, the World Health Organization (WHO) made World Hepatitis Day one of only 4 official disease-specific world health days, to be celebrated each year on the 28th of July. Millions of people across the world now take part in World Hepatitis Day, to raise awareness about viral hepatitis, and to call for access to treatment, better prevention programs and government action. The World Hepatitis Alliance (http://www.worldhepatitisalliance.org/en) is a leader that facilitates the global response and provides materials to mark World Hepatitis Day annually. CSIH works closely with the Alliance to coordinate the World Hepatitis Day Campaign in Canada, working in partnership with numerous organizations across Canada to enhance the collective efforts to eradicate hepatitis.

Parliamentary Breakfast Launches the World Hepatitis Day Campaign in Canada, June 16, 2016

To launch the World Hepatitis Day (WHD) campaign in Canada this year, the Canadian Society for International Health (CSIH) co-hosted the first Parliamentary Breakfast with the Honourable Jane Philpott, Canada’s minister of health. The event brought together government officials, decision makers, public health professionals, community based organizations, and the general public in their collective effort to eliminate hepatitis.

The Parliamentary Breakfast was a success and the Honourable Jane Philpott reaffirmed Canada’s commitment to participate in the global fight against viral hepatitis. During her address at the breakfast Philpott said, “We are committed to do the work to end hepatitis as a public health threat by 2030. We are working closely with provinces and territories to address the ongoing burden of viral hepatitis.”

CSIH is happy to announce that the media coverage for the Parliamentary Breakfast was very successful as the media outreach was approximately 3.4 million Canadians. Please see the News page for published articles on the Parliamentary Breakfast.

World Hepatitis Day Campaign in Canada / Results 2015

We are happy to announce that World Hepatitis Day 2015 in Canada was a great success! From coast to coast, over 90 events were put together by more than the 55 participating Canadian organizations. From small community centres, to city halls, to indigenous communities, to downtown streets, events urged Canadians to get tested with the message: “Prevent Hepatitis: it’s up to you. Get Tested.”

CSIH would like to thank all our Canadian partners who participated in the WHD campaign. We look forward to strengthening our partnerships as well as welcoming new partners across Canada to join the fight against hepatitis.

WHD Ottawa Event newsWe are very pleased with the success of our World Hepatitis Day event! The event took place on Tuesday July 28th from 12 – 2 pm at Marion Dewar Plaza, in front of Ottawa City Hall. The event sought to spread awareness about hepatitis by informing attendees about prevention, treatment and diagnosis of hepatitis. It also included professional one-on-one consultations, a documentary screening, complimentary BBQ lunch, as well as a raffle and promotional World Hepatitis Day giveaways.

The event was organized in partnership with Ottawa Public Health, the Ottawa Hospital, the Canadian Liver Foundation, the Youth Services Bureau of Ottawa, Centretown Community Health Centre, Somerset West Community Health Centre, the Canadian Liver Foundation, the Canadian AIDS Society, Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada, and Drug Users Advocacy League (DUAL), Operation Come Home, the Ontario Aboriginal HIV/AIDS Strategy, Akausivik Inuit Family Health Team, the Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation, the Canadian Centre for Gender & Sexual Diversity and the AIDS Committee of Ottawa. In addition to these community organizations, local businesses such as DavidsTea, Dance Fusion Studios and Living Colour Tattoo participated at the event to help spread awareness about hepatitis.

This event would not be possible without the generous support of our sponsors: AbbVie Corporation, Hydro Ottawa and Enbridge and Bridgehead. We would like to thank the numerous businesses who donated prizes for our event, including: Davids Tea, Cora’s, Pirate Adventures, Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada, Living Colour Tattoo/Piercing, Costco, L’occitane and Venus Envy.

Media outreach

In order to reach the greatest audience possible, Canadian organizations engaged in a variety of media outreach initiatives. Through both traditional and social media platforms, no corner of Canada was left untouched. On television and radio, online and in print, our message reached millions in both official languages.

This year’s social media campaign included the following hashtags:#WHDCanada2015

#LightsUp4Hep

#WHDCanada2016

#NOhep

Why should I care about hepatitis?

Viral hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver caused by a virus. It is estimated that hepatitis affects some 600,000 Canadians, many of whom are unaware of their status. One in 12 people worldwide has viral hepatitis and 1.4 million people die of the disease every year. Hepatitis C has no symptoms until dangerous amounts of damage to the liver have been done. There is no vaccine to prevent Hepatitis C.

Looking for an activity in your area?

More than 90 events were organized across Canada in honour of World Hepatitis Day 2015, including one-on-one professional consultations, testimonials, promotional barbecues, testing, vaccinations, documentary screening, information packages, guest speaker panels, youth activities and poster displays. To find out more about activities in your area, consult our list of events.

Planning an event?

CSIH provides information, guidance and promotional materials to organizations that are planning WHD events across Canada. The WHD toolkit will help you to organize, promote and evaluate your event.